Incubus
by cricketchick1990
Summary: He awakes to her hand on his shoulder and knows it has happened again. IchiRuki.


Yullo. _Another _IchiRuki oneshot from me, along with a major heart attack when I lost the entire ending to it and had to go through my conversation with the lovely **Feilyn** to find the bits I spoiled her with. I have also lost a far amount of my other fics, though Cess is still there - thank god. So excuse me for being fairly abrupt and getting straight into the story - I'm so gutted I lost so many fics - I officially hate MSN.

Anyway with a different take on the IchiRuki relationship for me (less smex)- here we go!

* * *

He awakes to her hand on his shoulder and knows it has happened again.

"Hey."

She doesn't reply, only slides under the covers that he holds open for her without meeting his gaze. Her knee knocks painfully into his thigh as he moves onto his back at the same time, and he resists the urge to swear as the impact adds to the bruising already there.

She takes the usual position against his side as he lets the blankets drop over them, her cheek pressed against his shoulder and arms tucked into the small space between her stomach and his waist. One of his hands slowly moves up her back to tangle itself in her hair while the other drapes across his stomach, fingertips barely catching her own.

"You okay?"

It's a redundant question - no one is okay in this stupid war - but this is different. How he doesn't know, but something tells him that if he keeps asking, maybe she'll eventually let him in.

She shakes her head after several awkward seconds of silence and he automatically grasps her fingers a little tighter.

"That dream again, huh?"

Letting go of her fingers and untangling himself from her hair he turns onto his side, wraps one arm around her waist and grabs her chin with the other so that she can't look away.

"Rukia?"

He's not sure just how far he can push for an answer; they've been walking on eggshells around each other ever since they went past the platonic stage, and he's become so reliant on this new intimacy that he's not sure he could take losing it as well.

She sighs eventually and reaches up to grab his hand so she can link their fingers again. "Yeah."

It's his turn to sigh as he leans forward and rests his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry."

Her lips meet his for the briefest of instants before she pulls back and closes her eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for, idiot."

It amazes him that she can still manage to insult him no matter what her mood, but he likes the consistency it provides in their… (he's afraid to call it a relationship because war seems to take great pleasure in tearing relationships apart) mutual understanding.

It's the only consistent thing he's had for a long time.

"Who was it this time?"

She opens her eyes and looks at him blankly and if it weren't for the fact he really doesn't want to let go of her, he would be throwing his hands in the air right now. "The dream. Who was it?"

"Oh."

It takes some effort for him to untangle their fingers so that he can grab her chin again to stop her from doing that annoying looking-away-to-avoid-the-question thing that seems to be becoming more common every day. "Rukia?"

"You."

"Eh?" Her voice is so quiet that even with their proximity, he struggles to hear her answer.

"It was you." She breathes in deep and manages to escape his hold on her chin to look away. "I killed you. And I was _laughing._"

"Shit, Rukia. I…I…" He's choking on the words, so he does the only thing he can think of and kisses her.

She pushes him away. "This is serious, Ichigo."

"Don't you think I know that? I just…shit, Rukia I don't know what to do."

_No one does. Not in the middle of a war._

"Aren't you offended?" She's biting her lip in the way that makes him want to kiss her again, but he doesn't. _Serious. _

"Never." He traces her cheek with a finger and pulls her closer. "It's a dream, Rukia. I know you wouldn't do anything like that."

"No, you don't. I was _enjoying _it, Ichigo!"

"Fucking hell, Rukia. It's a dream and you look like you're feeling damn guilty right now so I'm not worried. The only - the only time you would even consider it is if I lose control and there is no way in hell I'm letting that happen. Not with my family and friends to protect. Not with…"

"With what?"

Red tinges his cheeks and he dips his head to bury it into her neck. "You. Not with you to protect."

It's the closest thing she'll probably ever get to a declaration of love from him, and the red that stains his cheeks migrates to hers. "I…Ichigo."

He kisses her slowly and she sighs into his hair as he buries his head in her shoulder again and presses his lips to her neck. "I don't want you to die, Ichigo."

"I'm not gonna. Have a little faith, Rukia."

He glances up, and she somehow manages to scrape a small smile out of somewhere (she can't remember the last time she had the opportunity to smile) and leans forward to kiss him. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He looks away nervously - sometimes he hates what that smile of hers does to him. "Rukia, can I?"

She shrugs and kisses him again, finding comfort in his warm breath dancing across her skin between meetings and his hands running along her sides.

"I'm sick of being serious, Ichigo. It's all we are in this war."

"Yeah. You're right about that." His hands move to rest at her waist and he rests his fingers on the edge of her nightshirt. "So...?"

She sighs and takes his hand in hers, guiding it up her stomach. "You don't need to ask anymore, idiot."

His eyes meet hers and he smiles slightly as he pulls his hands away and pushes himself up to hover above her. "Rukia?"

"Yeah?" She's finding it hard to breathe with him looking at her like that and that damn perfect smile on his face, so she reaches up to grab his chin and pull him back down to her.

He resists when there's bare millimetres between their lips and she shudders as his gaze intensifies with their closer proximity. In fact she's so busy trying to keep herself composed that she completely misses what he murmurs before his lips meet her own and he steals whatever breath she had left.

"What did you say?" She whispers as he lifts his head away and moves his lips along her neck. "Ichigo?"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay?"

She sighs and tangles a hand in his hair. "That would be boring."

He chuckles against her throat and runs his hand down her side to link the fingers of her free hand to his. "You'll get used to it."

She squeezes his fingers gently and bends her neck so that she can press a kiss to his forehead. "Who's going to look after you?"

"No idea. But I'll be fine."

"How about we make a deal then. You look out for me, and I'll look out for you. You won't be hard to spot with that hair of yours."

He smiles - a real one - and moves to hover above her again, slowly bringing his lips to hers and sighing as she presses him closer. "Deal."

* * *

All done. Last night I didn't think that it was possible :Still curses MSN: but there you have it. Hope you enjoyed, and have the time to leave me a comment!


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